[Goanet] [JudeSundayReflections] 1st Sunday of Advent
17-Nov-2014 Dear Friend, We spend a lot of time waiting. Children wait for their father to come home after many months of working in a foreign land, young people wait for their friends to come back from their trips abroad, brothers and sisters wait for their siblings who have been staying away from home, patients wait for a remedy for their terminal sickness, students wait for the results of their exams, the unemployed wait for a new job. …..All wait and their waiting tests the quality of their hope; all they can do is wait. Waiting is part of life and there is no life without it. Advent puts this waiting in sharp focus, do we wait for God? Have a watchful time, alert for the coming, his Advent! –Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: 1st Sun Advent “Is God’s coming matched by our own coming?” 30-Nov-2014Isaiah 63:16-17, 19-64:2-7; 1 Cor. 1: 3-9; Mark 13:33-37; Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a glimpse of the difficulty people face when their waiting for God seems to be in vain. The exiled people had returned from their captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem, spurred on by hope, but they see Jerusalem in ruins. In their desperation all they can do is remember what God had actually done for them and hold on to him. When the people remember God as their Redeemer, they bring the past into the present and that sacred memory acts like a light in the midst of darkness. The memory of God’s love, gives them a reason to wait; to hold onto their hope. What the people of Israel remember is that God will live up to his ancient name- the Faithful One, and will come as their rescuer and redeemer. Because they hope they are ready to wait and their waiting is not a passive waiting in vain. Waiting to be RescuedOne December day 16-year-old Gary Schneider and two friends set out on a four-day climb up Mt. Hood. Nine thousand feet up, a blinding storm engulfed the three boys. They tunneled into a snow bank to get out of the driving wind and to wait out the blizzard. Eleven days later the blizzard continued to rage. The boys’ sleeping bags grew wet and lumpy. Their food supply dwindled to a daily ration of two spoonfuls of pancake batter apiece. Their sole comfort was a small Bible one of the boys had packed in his gear. The boys took turns reading it, eight hours a day. The only light was a spooky, reflected light coming from the cave’s tiny opening. There the three boys remained huddled hour after hour, day after day, listening to the word of God against a background of howling wind. Waiting like this was not easy. All the boys could do was pray, hoping the blizzard would blow itself out and help would come. Finally, on the 16th day the weather cleared and the boys crawled out of their snow cave. They were weak from the ordeal and could manage only a few steps at a time. Later that day they caught sight of a rescue party. Their long ordeal of waiting finally ended.Mark Link in ‘Illustrated Sunday Homilies’ The gospel today has a short parable about the householder who has servants to whom he assigns particular tasks before he sets off on a journey. He singles out the doorkeeper with a special warning. “Be on your guard then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming. What I say to you, then, I say to all: Watch!” If we were to focus our gaze on the door keeper alone we would realize that perhaps the greatest danger facing him is not so much that he may fall asleep on the job as that he may grow so accustomed to it that it will become just a job and nothing more. We know that gate-keeping can become boring and routine can set take over in the best of circumstances. We can get used to anything, we can get used to the sacred as well, we can get used to God, and then smugness, skepticism creeps into our lives. We can become Christians by habit and routine and we can keep up the external ritual and routine but we don’t encounter God anymore but only our own emptiness. We know Jesus is constantly coming into our lives. Each of us is the doorkeeper, whom God has put in charge of our own lives as well the lives of our community, our church, our society. Advent calls us to stand ready. We stay alert by living the values of the Redeemer in our own time. We can only welcome Jesus into our life if we are alert and attentive to Him. “The spiritual life is first of all a matter of being awake” said Thomas Merton.A story comes to us from Eastern mysticism:A monk asked, “Abbot, what has God’s wisdom taught you? Did you become divine?”“Not at all!” “Did you become a saint?” “No, as you can clearly see.” “What then, O Abbot?”“I became awake!”James Gilhooley in ‘Pastoral Life’ The Challenge of Waiting“In his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’, Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl tells the story of how he survived the atrocities of the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Frankl says one of the worst sufferings at Auschwitz was
[Goanet] [JudeSundayReflections] 1st Sunday of Advent
22-Nov-2011 Dear Friend, Whether we like it or not, whether we are prepared or not, we spend a major part of our lives waiting for things to happen to us or to the people around us. Waiting can be boring when we are not interested in the people we are waiting for, but it can also be exciting if the person we are waiting for is a loved one. Waiting can be very important for us, especially when we wait for God! Waiting for God is prayer! Waiting for God enhances life! Have an exciting weekend anticipating for His coming! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: First Sunday of Advent-Being ready and prepared for His coming! 27-Nov-2011 Isaiah 63: 16-17, 64: 1, 3-81 Corinthians 1: 3-9Mark 13: 33-37 The first reading, is a poem written by a returned exile, entreating God to come and save his people. He recalls God's goodness and mercy towards His people, he pleads with him to save them from their present sinfulness and misery. The prophet humbly acknowledges the sinful ways of his people. We are never worthy of meeting God and God seems to have turned his face from his people but he is a merciful God and will come again to save his people. All we have to do is wait eagerly for his coming. Waiting for the Lord Once I went to see my parents after a long absence. My mother lovingly scolded me saying, Do you know how long we have been waiting for you? I said, I understand, mother, but do you know how long I was waiting to be born? All of us wait to be born, to be nourished and to be loved. Travelers wait for buses and planes; students wait for the exam results. Waiting is part of life. Life is not like instant coffee, there is always more to life than we can fully grasp at any one time. If it is so with the life of a human being, what of the life of God, whose glory shines not in one world but in ten hundred thousands of infinite globes? -If alert, we can find the Lord popping up in the ordinary activities and possibilities of life. If I am watchful, he may be tapping me on my shoulder when I meet my neighbour. If only we have those eyes that see, those ears that hear (Is 64:4), we can meet him in his supreme visit which he makes in a thousand ways. If we look wide-eyed at all creation, which reflects God, when the flowers of the earth are springing, the birds of the sky singing and a world of blended beauties smiling, we can sense through the sacred feelings they arouse in us the rustling of his garments and the coming of his feet. Even when the wintry winds are howling and the heavens darkly scowling, we can feel the awesome majesty of his giant steps. Yes, to meet the Lord, we must be prepared for life, not just for death. Vima Dasan in 'His Word Lives' In Mark's gospel Jesus warns the people three times to be watchful and awake. Be watchful! Stay awake! This call to stay awake is a very appropriate call for us now at the beginning of the new liturgical year. The gospel today has a short parable about the householder who has servants to whom he assigns particular tasks before he sets of on a journey. He singles out the doorkeeper with a special warning. Be on your guard then, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming. If we were to focus our gaze on the door keeper alone we would realize that perhaps the greatest danger facing him is not so much that he may fall asleep on the job as that he may grow so accustomed to it, that it will become just a job and nothing more. We know that gate keeping can become boring and routine can set in and take over in the best of circumstances. We can get used to anything, we can get used to the Sacred as well, we can get used to God, and then smugness, skepticism creeps into our lives. We can become Christians by habit and routine and we can keep up the external ritual and routine but we don't encounter God anymore but only our own emptiness. Each of us is the doorkeeper, whom God has put in charge of our own lives as well the lives of our brothers and sisters, our community, our church, our society. Advent calls us to stand ready and prepared for his coming. We stay alert by living the values of the Redeemer in our own time and place. We can only welcome Jesus into our life if we are alert and attentive to Him. Are we ready? Advent is God's rallying cry to his people before Christmas. Isaiah highlights how limited we are without the power of God and he compares us to clay in the hands of a potter. He pleads with God to rescue us from our inadvertence to him. The gospel cry of Jesus to be on our guard and to stay awake alerts us to the reality that self-interest always hinders our response to God. On the other hand, Paul is loud in his praise and thanks the converts at Corinth who have responded so fully to God's gifts to them. Together there is a pressing invitation to be attentive during these weeks to the wonder of God among us. Let us make space and time for him
[Goanet] [JudeSundayReflections] 1st Sunday of Advent
15-Nov-2008 Dear Friend, We spend a major part of life waiting. We wait to be born; parents wait expectantly for their child. We wait for big things to happen as well as wait for little things. Ultimately we wait for death! Most do not like to wait and become irritated and impatient when kept waiting. We cannot push life but we have to wait. Everything happens in His time. But are we ready to wait for God? So often we want God to be on our timetable. We slot him into our busy schedules. We have no time for waiting for God, which itself can be a transforming experience. Have a quiet weekend waiting for God! -Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: First Sunday of Advent 'Be awake and prepared for He comes! 30-Nov-2008 Readings: Isaiah 63: 16-17; 64: 1, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9; Mark 13: 33-37; Today's first reading is taken from a long psalm written before the exile or immediately after the exiles return to the homeland in Palestine. In this passage Israel reflects of the loving kindness of God in spite of Israel's infidelity. God is their Father who has led Israel and moulded her history; He has led her like a shepherd through the exodus into fertile lands for her nourishment. In spite of this care Israel abandoned her God to her own great loss. Having cut herself from her fertile source, God, she has become like dried leaves scattered in exile. The psalmist pleads with God to intervene once again and come to their aid, like a new exodus of salvation. He begs Yahweh to rend the heavens, where he abides, and come once again into the life of his people. Though the Messiah has come we can make use of this prayer asking God to come again into our lives and bring newness and hope into our dried lives. You Are My Treasure... There was a father who had four children. When they were old enough to leave home, he gave each of them a treasure sealed in a simple earthenware jar. Justin, oldest of the four, bore the treasure away with great joy. However, the joy soon wore off. He got tired and began to grumble against his father, and the inevitable happened. He let the jar fall. It got badly cracked, so he put it aside. Anne, the second oldest, went at once and had the jar encased in a metal container. Then she proceeded to encrust the case with precious stones. The case glittered with diamonds and rubies and she forgot about the inner treasure. Brendan, the third oldest, carried the treasure with care and love for a while. But then he began to have doubts about its value. Falling on hard times, he sold it for a pittance. Sarah, the youngest of the four, carried the treasure with the utmost care. She had no doubts about its value, so great was her trust in her father. Her real anchor in her life was not so much the treasure, as the love of her father which the treasure symbolized. Years went by. Then one day a message came saying that their father was dying and wished to see them. They figured that he wanted them to give an account of what they had done with the treasures. When the meeting took place the father enquired earnestly about the well-being of each of his children. Not as much as a word about the treasures! Finally Anne said, 'Dad, aren't you going to ask us about the treasures?' 'I've already done so,' he replied. 'I don't understand,' she said. 'Why, you are my treasures!' Said he. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies' In today's second reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians Paul gives thanks for the gift of the word and knowledge of God given to us through Jesus Christ. Paul thanks God for the many gifts bestowed on his people acknowledging that every good gift comes from God and is not earned by us. Nothing now is wanting in us, so we earnestly desire the return of the Lord. Paul's reference to waiting for Jesus' full revelation is an excellent expression of the advent spirit. The one who keeps our hope alive is the faithful God. Paul also speaks of the 'day of the Lord', the day of the Lord's return, which will also be the day of judgement. Our waiting for the Lord's coming is not a despair-filled tension but a hope filled one, because we have walked in faith and hope awaiting God who is our friend. Creative Waiting In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl tells the story of how he survived the atrocities of the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Frankl says that one of the worst sufferings at Auschwitz was waiting: waiting for the war to end; waiting for an uncertain date of release; and waiting for death to end the agony. This waiting caused some prisoners to lose sight of future goals, to let go of their grip on present realities and to give up the struggle to survive. This same waiting made other prisoners like Frankl accept it as a challenge, as a test of their inner strength and as a chance to discover deeper dimensions of human freedom. Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds In
